By Miranda Olson

On Sat. Apr. 5, the juniors and seniors of Atlantic High School were having a great time hanging out with their friends and dancing the night away in the gym.

The junior and senior girls started their prom day off by getting their hair done in early to mid-afternoon, before meeting with their dates to take pictures.  Popular places to take pictures among the two classes were Kip Harris’ house, which the 2014 seniors took pictures at both years of prom, and places downtown, including the train depot and city park.

The night started for everyone around 7 p.m. at the hospital for pre-prom.  The cars that were driven were valet parked by junior and senior parents.  Inside the hospital, students had their professional pictures taken by Sue Fischer.  Fischer then took a group picture of the senior girls, then the senior boys.  Students also hung around their friends, eating snacks and drinking punch, before leaving to head back to the high school for grand march.

Students had to come up with a way for them and their date to be announced during grand march.  English teachers Allison Berryhill and Elizabeth Huggins were the announcers, and helped students think of something creative if they could not themselves.  Junior Taylor Berns said, “Huggins and Berryhill made grand march fun and entertaining.”  Once a group had walked across the stage, they walked into the commons and claimed a table with some high heels or a jacket that they took off.

The dance started as soon as grand march was done, and some students went to the gym to dance, while others sat in the commons and chatted amongst their friends.  Numerous of the songs that the dj played were country, with some pop and hip-hop mixed in.  The last song played during the dance was the 2014 senior class song, “You’re Gonna Miss This.”  For this song, seniors stood in a circle with their arms wrapped around each other and swayed to the beat.  Senior Michael Thomsen said, “It was a sad moment for all of us, tears were rolling down my face.  There was not a dry eye in the building.”  The dance then ended around 11:45 and students had thirty minutes to change.

Students then met up again at the Nisha Valley Family YMCA from 12:15-1:15 a.m. for after prom.  Community members had set up a blow up obstacle course, a slide, and a jousting area, along with two ping-pong tables, a foosball table, and an air hockey table.  Lazer tag was also played in the back gym, and was one of the favorite things to do at after prom.  Senior Jez Phippen said, “Laser tag was better than last year because there was a bigger area and more stuff to hide behind.”

At 1:15 a.m., juniors and seniors were dismissed from the YMCA and sent back to the high school to watch the hypnotist and eat pancakes.  During the hypnotist, juniors Mollee Welter, Macey Schmitt, and Hannah Nelson were a fan favorite.  From singing the martian national anthem, to thinking junior Tristen Benn is the, “best looking guy she has ever seen.” Welter was hilarious.  Once the show was over, prizes were announced while the pancakes were served.

The biggest prizes received were mini fridges, 32” televisions, and Keurig coffee makers.  The recipients of the mini fridges were Sara King and Jordie Johnson; the televisions went to Nick Barry, Lauren Krogman, and Hannah Nelson; and the Keurig coffee makers to Lisa Gearheart and Cal Hueton.  Nelson said, “I coudn’t believe that I actually won a TV.  I didn’t think I would get that lucky because I usually don’t win big prizes like that.  Because I was still hypnotized, I may have over exaggerated my excitement, but I was real happy.”

Atlantic High School principal Mrs. McKay then announced how proud she was of the juniors and seniors this year.  McKay said, “The students were amazing!  Behavior was top notch.  The decorations looked great at all locations.  I left Sunday morning with such a positive attitude and pride with how everything went, my heart still smiles.”  She also said, “Grand march was entertaining and so positive too!”

Seniors were then allowed to go home, while the juniors stuck around to finish tearing down what the parents hadn’t already done.  Juniors stayed for about fifteen to twenty minutes before going home and sleeping the rest of the day away.  Junior Erin Shannon  said, “I slept until 3 p.m. on Sunday and I stayed in bed all day because I was really tired.”

To see Mollee Welter sing the martian national anthem, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-xeaC_VkVk&feature=youtu.be